Tapol bulletin no, 124, August 1994

This is the Published version of the following publication

UNSPECIFIED (1994) Tapol bulletin no, 124, August 1994. Tapol bulletin (124). pp. 1-24. ISSN 1356-1154

The publisher’s official version can be found at

Note that access to this version may require subscription.

Downloaded from VU Research Repository https://vuir.vu.edu.au/26063/ The Indonesia Human Rights Campaign

TAPOL Bulletin No. 124 August 1994

Three major weeklies closed by Suharto

Political life was thrown into turmoil when Indonesia '.s three major political weeklies were banned in June. The wave of protest has been unprecedented despite strong-arm tactics of the security forces against peacefal protesters. Never before since Suharto took power has there been such widespread condemnation of the regime's clampdown on the press.

The three weeklies closed down on 20 June by the lnfor­ Talk about an era of 'openness' bestowed by the grace of mation Minister, Harmoko, on Suharto's orders, were Tempo the man who has ruled the country for nearly thirty years which first appeared 23 years ago and now enjoys a was shown to be illusory. When reporting began to lap a circulation of more than 200,000, Editor which was in its around the edges of a number of top-level scandals eleventh year, with a circulation of nearly 90,000, and involving cronies of the President, Suharto judged that it DeTik, a tabloid weekly which emerged on the scene little was time to act. The banning orders were issued eleven more than a year ago and whose punchy and audacious days after he angrily denounced the press for 'sowing reporting of political developments has won it huge popu­ discord' between members of his government and made it larity and a circulation of around a quarter of a million. clear that 'measures' would be taken. Even though rumours Like many other groups overseas, TAPOL has strong were rife, the closure of the three publications came as a reason to regret the passing of the weeklies. We have relied great shock. for years on Tempo and Editor to which we have subscrip­ Suharto's characteristic outburst on 9 June made it clear tions, and we were also receiving DeTik on a regular basis that his fury has been aroused by media scrutiny of a though we had not yet got round to taking out a subscrip­ decision to purchase 39 mothballed warships of the former tion. Politics Brute force against demonstrators p. 4 More army violence in Dili Suharto: Back to basics? p. 6 Bdtish aid leaps ahead · p. 10 A demonstration by students at the University of East Timor was violently put down by security forces in Dili. Land disputes There were many casualties with three reported dead. Once Victoiy for Kedung Ombo peasants p. 7 again people in Dili were plunged into a state of tension Islanders against a golf course p. 9 and fear, recalling the atmosphere that followed in the wake of the Santa Cruz massacre in 1991. Labour contlkts The army violence occurred on 14 July as some five Workers against the military p. 12 hundred students at the University were preparing to march Medan workers on trial p. 13 from the campus to the local assembly building, about 500 metres away, to tell assembly members about an incident on Human rights the previous day. C.On~itionat release for the 3Bs p. 8 Heavily-armed troops and riot-police blocked their way Batak church activist killed p. 14 and started attacking the students with knives and sticks. Most of the injured suffered lacerations, stab wounds and East Timor extensive bruising. Firearms were not used, to make sure Suharto, the regional bully p. 16 that this would be a 'silent' operation. There were persistent Belo: western governments are lying p. 19 reports from Dili that three people died after their throats East Timor briefs p. 21 were slashed. It has not been possible to name the dead Murdered newsman's sister speaks at UN p. 22 whose bodies may have been removed and secretly buried US Senate bans light arms sales p. 23 by the security forces. Two days after the bloody incident, sources in Dili reported that nine people were missing. Book Review: Gunn on the Media p. 24 continued on page 15 He has used these powers on numerous occasions, the m~st CENSORSHIP recent being the closure of Monitor, a down-market tabloid, for insuJting the Prophet Mohammad, in 1990. In 1986, the East German navy. He took full responsibility for granting daily Sinar Harapan, Jost its licence for a report about his protege, Dr. B.J. Habibie, Minister for Research and export-import regulations. Prioritas was banned in 1987 Technology, full control over this costly procurement. The also for publishing economic reports deemed to be sensi­ deal, concluded two years ago with Chancellor Kohl, and tive, as did the weekly magazine Expo, which was feJJed in handled by various members of the Habibie family, includ­ 1984. ing BJ. 's brother who is Indonesian ambassador in London, The 1984 ministerial decree has been chaJJenged in a was closely examined in several issues of Tempo, which judicial review by Suryo Paloh, editor of Prioritas, but the was not alone in revealing a major row between Habibie Supreme Court is in no hurry to examine the complaint. and Finance Minister Mar'ie Muhammad over the farmer's The decree is being chaJJenged because it contradicts the extravangant budgetary demands. Nor was it Jost on the 1982 Basic Press Law, Article 4 of which explicitly pro­ general public that Habibie's procurement role was also hibits censorship and banning. However, the Basis Press resented by the armed forces leadership. Law is not a model of press freedom; Article 11 prohibits Suharto's arrogant decision to cut the lifeline of three very all 'Marxist/Leninist or anti-Pancasila publications'. popular publications by revoking their publishing permits is For several years now, journalists, lawyers and human the latest sign of the absolute power wielded by a man rights activists have campaigned for the repeal of the whose authority is on the wan and whose much-vaunted Harmoko decree, but to no avail. There is no such thing in political shrewdness is now in seriously in doubt. Indonesia as an independent journalists' union. The PWI is The bans were followed by a series of warnings to the rest a loyal government appendage as is the newspaper propri­ of the press not to step out of line or suffer the same fate. etors' association, the SPS. So far, there has been no move In particular they have been warned not to publish to challenge this, except for a journalists' forum set up last graphic accounts or photos of the violent crackdown by year in Yogyakarta, Central Java. When protesting journal­ security forces against peaceful protesters opposing the ists approached the PWI for support, its secretary-genera] bans. [See separate item.] shed crocodile tears over the fate of the now unemployed journalists, declared that it "understood" why the govern­ Special ministerial powers used ment had acted and advised the weeklies to apply for new The bannings have brought into focus as never before the licences and promise to 'tone down their reporting'. illegality of the special powers which Harmoko, now serving his third term as Information Minister, granted 'SIUPP' to fight SIUPP himself in 1984 to revoke a press publication licence The three latest bans have led to the emergence of a host of whenever he deems that a paper is acting in 'irresponsibly'. ad hoc groups and coalitions to fight for freedom of the press and freedom of expression. As one opposition figure has said, "this triple strike has only served to lend coher­ ence to an otherwise diffuse political opposition". The source went on: "The Old Man has done for us in a single move what years of organising and discussion could not have accomplished." [Jeremy Winters, in Nation magazine, 29 June 1994) One of the newest groups is called 'SIUPP' for Solidaritas Indonesia Untuk Pembebasan Pers (Indonesian Solidarity for Press Freedom), the same initials as Harmoko's press publishing licence. Bargaining with licences There is strong pressure on the proprietors of the three weeklies to ask for their licences back on the understanding that they accept that freedom of the press means conform­ ing with the concept of 'being responsible'. Moreover, they would only be allowed to resurface with new names, under new management and with new editors. Gunawan Muhammad of Tempo will have none of this. Leading a news magazine in Indonesia, he said, is like being "a pilot in a hijacked plane. You make one small mistake, your plane will blow up and many people will fall prey. But after your plane has blown up, you are still forced to be careful because you'll get a new plane, complete with new hijackers". [Jakarta Post, 28.6.1994) He has also commented bitterly that even under the recent climate of 'political openness', the press has not behaved very boldly. "If such a careful press is banned, what else is there left?" Press freedom 'with responsibility' is a bridled press. What the three journals were trying to do was, at best, to make their reporting of some events a bit more 'balanced'. To the

2 TAPOL Bulletin No. 124, August 1994 outside observer, the results have been decidedly patchy. Take their recent coverage of East Timor. On 2 June, Editor CENSORSHIP published an outspoken interview of George Aditjondro, senior lecturer at the Satya Wacana Christian University, Law". The letter went on: explaining the reasons for Indonesia's attempts to sabotage the Manila Conference on East Timor. The role of Suharto's "The Ministry of Information has reportedly explained that daughter, Tutut, in steering a new policy of 'reconciliation' action was taken against these publications after they had was highlighted. This article could we]] have been the ignored government warnings. These reports, if true, are reason why this journal was closed down. On the other profoundly troubling; they indicate an effort to establish a hand, Tempo recently published a jUosslv ilJ-informed and system of censorship, circumventing the ban on censorship 1ibe1Jous articJe about the East Timorese resistance leader, in the Basic Law. Government warnings are no substitute Jose Ramos-Horta, which must surely have been a plant by for due process under law, a fair and open trial on specific military inte11igence.[Tempo, 24-IV-94]. charges, should the publications have violated specific As for DeTik, it is widely recognised that one of its prime provisions of the law, on grounds internationally recognised functions recently has been to publish articles originating as constituting a legitimate exemption from the interna­ from armed forces sources which have used the journal to tional norms protecting freedom of expression. 11 fire political missiles at the President. This explains why top generals have not wekomed the bans, describing them The New York- based Committee to Protect Journalists as 'regrettable' and 'unnecessary'. addressed its protest to Armed Forces Commander-in­ Chief, General Feisal Tanjung and Information Minister What of the future? Harmoko as well as to President Suharto. After outlining The prominent part Goenawan Muhammad of Tempo and the alleged breaches for which the journals were closed Eros Djarot of DeTik have played in the protests suggests down, the CPJ said: that neither of these journals is prepared to accept condi­ tional resumption of publication. The managers of Editor on ''As a non-profit organisation dedicated to upholding the other hand have been very quiet. The journal which was press freedom worldwide, the Committee views the closure set up eleven years ago by a group of journalists who had of Tempo, DeTik and Editor as a blatant violation of the defected from Tempo was in serious financial straits. Unlike right to 'seek, receive and impart information... as the other two, it had no financial links with any politically­ guaranteed in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of powerfully groups and was considered to be politicaIJy and Human Rights. We respectfally urge Your Excellency to economica1Jy the more independent-minded of the three. immediately rescind the ban on the three publications, and Having been cut down at a moment of great internal crisis, ensure their right to publish freely without fear of govern - it appears to have accepted the inevitable of a sell-out to ment inter/erence . 11 one of the powerful conglomerates. There are business tycoons waiting in the wings to fill the The Paris-based Reporters Sans Frontieres also wrote void. Media ownership, both print and screen has become to Suharto in the strongest terms condemning the bans. an attractive investment for some of the richest businessmen in the country. One man who is said to be eyeing Tempo is Calls for CGI meeting to be postponed Bob Hasan, the timber tycoon and Suharto crony, who has Meanwhile no fewer than fourteen leading human rights recently run an aggressive campaign seeking to demolish environment and development non-governmental worldwide criticism of Indonesia's destructive forestry organisations in the US wrote on 1 July to Lewis Preston, programme. An earlier bid came from Hashim Djojohadi­ President of the World Bank, just a week before the Bank kusumo, related by marriage to the President. [International Herald Tribune, 14.7.1994] International protest At government level the strongest condemnation came from the US. "The US strongly supports freedom of the press throughout the world," a US embassy statement said. "We therefore regret the Indonesia government's decision to cancel the publishing licences of three Indonesian journals." The embassy later also deplored the harsh crackdown against peaceful protesters against the ban. Australia's Paul Keating was forced, by the strength of anger in the local press, to express regrets but the ban was not allowed to marr his high-profile trade promotional trip to Indonesia. The UK said nothing publicly but did raise its 'concern' over the ban at the Paris meeting of the Consult­ ative Group on Indonesia, as Overseas Development Minister Lynda Chalker stated in a written answer to Lord Avebury. Article 19, the London-based International Centre Against Censorship, in a Jetter to President Suharto, said the ban was "a grave violation of freedom of expression and is incompatible with Article 19 of the Universal Declaration Hadi 'Kacik ' Ciptono with a bleeding head of Human Rights ... and ArticJe 4 of Indonesia's Basic Press

TAPOL Bulletin No. 124, August 1994 3 Bank Information Center, Greenpeace USA, the Lawyers CENSORSHIP Committee for Human Rights, the Center of Concern, Development GAP, Human Rights Watch/Asia, the Envi­ would be presiding over the 1994 meeting of the Consult­ ronmental Defense Fund, the• Project on Demilitarisation ative Group on Indonesia to fix of this year's allocation of and Democracy, the International Rivers Network and the foreign assistance to Indonesia. The NGOs urged Preston to Sierra Club. personally convey to President Suharto and other members A similar letter was also sent to the World Bank by of the (CGI) "that the Group's work would be severely SKEPHI, the Indonesian Network for Forest Conservation compromised if it met under the current circumstances. along with the World Rainforest Movement, TAPOL, The Unless and until freedom of the press has been restored in Ecologist, the Environmental Investigation Agency, Forest Indonesia, the meeting of the Group should be postponed." Monitor, the World Development Movement, Down-to­ The letter argued that World Bank policies, documents and Earth and Minewatch. practices "continue to stress (that) public participation and At the CGI meeting which went ahead as scheduled, the open discourse are essential elements of successful and press clampdown was raised by several member govern­ sustainable development". ments as well as the World Bank, as acknowledged by The Jetter was endorsed by Friends of the Earth Interna­ Saleh Afiff, Minister-Coordinator for Economic Affairs. tional, Bread for the World, the National Wildlife Feder­ [Reuter, 7.7.1994) ation, the Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights, the

Army uses brute force to quell demonstrations

The closure of three major weeklies led to unprecedented protests in many cities. Journalists, students, lawyers and human rights activists took to the streets in large numbers. Armed troops were clearly under orders to treat the peaceful demonstrations with a ferocity not seen in Java for many years.

Soon after the bans were announced on 20 June, hundreds several hundred students and university staff took to the of people came out onto the streets in protest. On 23 June, streets in protest. about a thousand people, mostly journalists and students dressed in bJack, turned up outside the Infonnation Ministry 'Bloody Jakarta' in a 'show of concern'. Among those present were leading As the movement gathered momentum, the plan was for the human rights lawyer, Adnan Buyung Nasution, the editor­ initial wave of demonstrations to culminate in a mass rally in-chief of Tempo, Fikri Jufri, and a member of parliament, in Jakarta on Monday, 27 June. It was not as large as Sri Bintang Pamungkas, of the PPP party who is becoming expected, probably because the organisers realised that the an outspoken critic of the government and the anny. A army was planning to take harsh measures. request for a meeting with Minister Hannoko was turned Two groups converged on the Information Ministry from down. Anti-riot police were present but kept at a distance two directions. The demands were: revocation of the bans from the protesters. on the weeklies, repeal of the press licencing system and an Demonstrations also took place in Padang, Matararn, end to government restrictions on freedom of expression. Medan, Bandung and Menado. In Salatiga, Central Java, One group, some three hundred strong, made their way from the Sarinah departmental store to the ministry. There were many journalists on the march along with human rights activists from many organisations and students and young people who had come to Jakarta specially from Bandung, Yogyakarta, Bogor, Cianjur, Garut, Jombang and Surabaya. Some 200 metres from the ministry, they noticed that a gang of youths from a group that had threatened to attack those protesting against the closure were gathered in front of the building. To avoid direct confrontation, the protesters chose a delegation to approach the ministry with a view to holding negotiations with officials. As the large crowd waited peacefully for the outcome, they were set upon without warning by security forces wielding sticks and batons. Anti-riot police and army troops wearing black T-shirts with the word Opsih showed no mercy. (Opsih is short for operasi bersih, a joint military and police operation launched in April to clear the streets of Jakarta of 'undesirable elements'.) These troops wore no identifiable insignia. They Jaid into the protesters, injuring many people and forcing them to scatter in all directions. The troops continued to kick and beat people even as they Jay on the ground or gave chase to those who ran down side streets to escape the brutality of the troops.

4 TAPOL Bulletin No. 124, August 1994 Meanwhile, several hundred other protesters who approached the ministry from a different direction managed CENSQRSHIB to reach the building. Among them were members of the Yogyakarta theatre group of W.S. Rendra, dissident poet The next day, several dozen people were charged under and playwright, led by Rendra himself. They sat down and Article 510 of the Criminal Code with holding a demon­ started reciting poetry but they too were set upon by the stration without permission and fmed Rp2,000 each. troops. About twenty from this group were rounded up and The one person not released was Beathor Suryadi, an driven off in trucks, some injured and with bleeding heads. activist and founding member of Yayasan Pi.jar which has There were many wounded, several seriously, who had to been at the forefront of many pro-democracy activities for remain in hospital for more than a week. several years. Beathor was conditionally released from It is clear that the aniled forces were under orders from prison some months ago after serving most of a three-year Suharto to prevent the protests from getting out of hand. sentence. He has not aUowed the conditionality of his The brutality was deliberately aimed at stopping the mass release to stand in the way of continued activism. It seems protest in its tracks as it became clear that it was threaten­ now that he will be required to serve the rest of his sen­ ing to engulf the regime. Suharto must have had in mind tence. the numerous street rallies that forced him last year to cave On 5 July, undaunted by the police threat, some 150 in over the national lottery which had thousands of people journalists held a rally outside the office of the Press protesting in all parts of the country. Council, the body which is supposed to advise the minister before he takes action against a newspaper. (The Council is More than fifty arrested chaired by the minister.) Five journalists handed in a Altogether more than fifty people were taken into custody. petition signed by 370 journalists from many parts of the The Jakarta chief-of-police, Major-General (Pol) Hindarto, country, demanding the lifting of the bans. The Press used graphic language to make it clear that his men would Council feigned sympathy but offered no support. The man deal harshly with all further street demonstrations. "Where the journalists spoke to, Parni Hardi, is secretary general of are you taking them?" a journalist asked as the peaceful both the Council and the PWI and is clearly on the side of demonstrators were being driven away in trucks. "To hell. the government. Dozens of riot-police were present, armed They deserve to be killed!" with clubs and shields, blocking the way into the building. Two days earlier, in Yogyakarta, protesters unfurled banners dem­ anding the lifting of the bans but took them down again two minutes later as security forces closed in on them, threatening to take action. Troops violate LBH prem­ ises The next planned protest was a gathering of some two hundred people, mainly students, on the premis~s of the Legal Aid Institute (LBH) in Jakarta. The LBH head office has been used on a number of occasions for discussions about action against the press bans. For much of the time, the building has been surrounded by security forces. On 7 July, a solidarity action was launched to back two students who planned to start a hunger strike in support of the movement to lift the bans. In a statement, the students said: "The government has warned the local mass media not to report actions against the publication ban. This is tantamount to trampling on democracy and freedom to express opipions." Soon after the action began, troops entered the premises, started beating up those present and dragged forty-three people off in police trucks. The two hunger Special military units beating peaceful protestors continued on page 11

TAPOL Bulletin No. 124, August 1994 5 POLITICS ·. :.,:-:- Back to basics?

Recent events in Indonesia are puzzling the experts. Is Suharto, the cunning grey fox, losing his touch? Or has he reverted to plain old repression, the way the Orde Baru began in 1965? Thirty years on, things are more complex, the parameters are no longer the same and the way of resolving things has become more complicated. For many supporters of the regime, the crucial question is: is the old man an asset or has he become a liability?

With the death of dictator Kim I1 Sung, Suharto now heads the Jist of Jong-serving dictators. OnJy the obscure despot of the Dominican Republic, Joaquin BaJaquer, has served Jonger than the 73-year oJd Suharto. WhiJe Indonesia watchers agree that Suharto is a great strategist and master of politicaJ cunning, recent events suggest that he is Josing his touch. Signs of panic It started with the way the East Timor conference in ManiJa was handled. It was obvious that Jakarta didn't Jike the event but the way Suharto dealt with it was Jike swatting a mosquito with a bazooka (see speciaJ item). The PhiJippine government was given no room to manoeuvre: political blackmaiJ was used and economic sanctions were inflicted on Mindanao. The operation backfired, the conference was a resounding success and worldwide pub]icity rang clear with the message: Indonesia has something nasty to hide in East Timor. At roughly the same time, huge worker demonstrations in Medan shattered the image of Indonesia as a third worJd country successfully deaJing with poverty. Although the WorJd Bank still quotes Indonesia as an example of good governance, Medan told a very different story. Indonesia was now portrayed in the international press as a cheap­ labour boom economy in the Asia-Pacific, creating wealth for the happy few and misery for the masses. Suharto's image as Bapak Pembangunan (Father of Development) is now hollow. Dilapidated ships Probably the most disastrous event for Suharto's image was his handling of the scandaJ of the 39 mothbaUed East that the deal had been handed to the President's favourite, German warships. From the outset the deaJ stank. WhiJe the Habibie which also meant bypassing ABRI. ships were sold at rock-bottom price, refurbishment would Another side of the scandal, discussed at length in the cost US$1,1 billion, much more than Finance Minister press, was the woeful condition of the ships as evident from Mari'ie Muhammad could allow. The conflict between very substantial refurbishment needed, costing almost one Suharto and high-tech Minister Habibie (responsible for the hundred times the price of the ships, valued as scrap at US$ purchase) on the one hand and the armed forces leadership 12. 7. million. This hit the headlines when one of the ships on the other hand was out in the open. Many things are at capsized and almost sank on the way to Indonesia and was stake and Suharto, usually a master at power-balancing, irreparably damaged off the coast of France. Minister bJundered all the way. Habibie tried to persuade the public that the ships were not It was Suharto himself who made it clear that the armed all that bad. But he could not explain away conflicting forces had no say at all in the purchase of the ships; still figures about the cost of refurbishment. After saying this worse, they were not even informed. In his own words, wouJd cost US$ 1.1 billion, the amount suddenly more than Suharto explained that he received a private phone call h~lved, down to US$420 million after complaints from the from Chancellor Helmut Koh] asking for a quick decision Fmance Department. When Finance Minister Mari'ie because, said Suharto, other countries were eager to snap up M.u~ammad .~sisted that he could allot only US$ 319 the ships. This is why Suharto did not inform the armed milhon, Hab1b1e agreed. The big question is: what would forces. People were flabbergasted by the story and everyone have happened to the difference of US$ 163 million if the knew he was lying. It was clear from the start first amount had been approved? After the scandal of the state development bank Bapindo, mistrust of highly-placed

6 TAPOL Bulletin No. 124, August 1994 officials is rife. Yet even so, Suharto threw his political POLITICS weight behind Habibie. ·-:··::.:::;... The drama further intensified when the print media was forced to take the rap and three weeklies were closed down. Bullying his ASEAN neighbours over East Timor has only The political community in Jakarta was infuriated. None of blackened his image. the publications had threatened political security. On the Indonesia is emerging as a modem nation-state which contrary, it was Suharto's outburst that caused the havoc for needs proper macro economic policies, prudent management which he blames human rights, pro-democracy and envi­ of education, health-care, etc. Suharto-style one-man ronmental activists. dictatorship jeopardises this and increasingly, Suharto's supporters at home and abroad realise that the dictator is The end of Keterbukaan? becoming a liability. Suharto spoke a few years ago about creating more breath­ Asia-Pacific Rim style growth has created a middle class. ing space in his political system. Indonesia's free enterprise By curbing the press, Suharto has raised the hackles of his economy should lead to keterbukaan (openness) in politics. former supporters. The Orde Baru has created an affluent Keterbukaan became synonymous with democratisation. class and they are demanding freedoms now. Now the signs are that Suharto has ended the period of The difference with the eighties is clear. The mood of keterbukaan and wants to return to a more stable period of resignation and acceptance of earlier years is disappearing. straight-forward repression, as it was in the first twenty Political control, clampdowns, security measures are being years of his rule. But even if he wants to do this, objective met with more defiance. It is no accident that the nineties conditions will prevent him from getting the genie back into slogan is: Suharto Dalang Segala Bencana, Suharto is the the bottle. Cause of All Disasters. The banned stickers with this At the international level, despite Indonesia's chairmanship inscription are still to be seen in the streets of Jakarta. of the Non-Aligned Movement, Suharto remains obscure.

Victory at last for Kedung Ombo peasants

The remarkable struggle of Kedung Ombo peasants who resisted expropriation of their land for pitifu,l compensation has at last been vindicated with a decision of the Supreme Court. But government officials are doing everything possible to prevent or delay implementation of this landmark decision in which the Court found in favour of the peasants.

The construction of the WorJd Bank-funded Kedung Ombo The Court also pronounced as unlawful moves by author­ dam led to the expropriation of thousands hectares of land ities to 'consign' money to the banks for land compensation forcing more than 6,000 peasant families off their land so as to forecJose any complaint about the amount to be during the 1980s. Under strong pressure from the authorities paid. The verdict vindicates the demand for proper consul­ backed by the security forces, most of the peasants agreed tation with anyone whose land faces expropriation and to be transmigrated elsewhere in Indonesia or accept recognises the right to compensation for crops. alternative plots of land of poor quality. But 34 families (initiany 54 families were involved in the lawsuit) stood Towards an independent judiciary? their ground, rejected the compensation offer of Rp500 - For the first time in the history of·the Suharto regime, the Rp800 per square metre and decided to sue the governor of Supreme Court has shown an independence from the Central Java and the Department of Public Works for a executive that augurs wen for other cases now before it, decent level of compensation. The Legal Aid Institute in including the judicial review over the Information Minister's Semarang handled the case on their behalf. unlawful decree on revoking press licences. For two years, The Kedung Ombo campaign was Indonesia's first major the Supreme Court has been chaired by a civilian judge, land dispute struggle; it became an international issue Purwoto S. Gandasubrata who took over from Lt.General because the World Bank did nothing to ensure implementa­ Ali Said in 1992. tion of its guidelines for people displaced by Bank-funded The verdict which, for administrative reasons, was only projects. [For TAPOL's efforts and coverage, see Bulletins conveyed to the plaintiffs' lawyers a year after it had been Nos 91, 92, 93, 95, 100, 104 and 105. See also Occasional adopted, has come as a bitter blow to the authorities in Reports, No 10 issued in 1989, which reproduces our Central Java which must now find the cash to pay up. The correspondence with the World Bank about the dam.] governor is insisting on a Review of the decision and wiJI After unsuccessful litigation in the district and high courts, argue that this Review should also mean a Stay of Execu­ the Supreme Court adopted a verdict which vindicates their tion. But as Chief Justice Purwoto as well as many lawyers struggle and should provide guidelines for an present and have stressed, there can be no grounds for failing to execute future disputes over land compensation. The Court decided a decision of the Supreme Court against which there is no that the peasants should receive Rp50,000 per square metre further appeal. and Rp30,000 extra for land with crops. It also decided that This is the first time that the government has had to face the peasants should receive Rp2,000,000,000 in 'immaterial defeat in the courts. Even the military commander came to compensation' for distress, insecurity and other harassments the provincial government's defence, arguing that the Court which the peasants suffered during the course of their verdict 'lacks authenticity'. As several human rights lawyers dispute. This would certainly include Suharto's public have said, the verdict has nothing whatever to do with him. denunciation of the peasants as 'ex-PKI'. One argument of the provincial authorities is that the continued on page 23

TAPOL Bulletin No. 124, August 1994 7 POLITICAL PRISONERS Conditional release for the 3 Bs

The release of Bonar Tigor Naipospos, Bambang Subono and Bambang Jsti Nugroho should n~t pas~ed unnoticed. The three were members of the Palagan Study Group, one of best known student discussion groups in the eighties. Their trials were prime examples of the travesty of justice. They got heavy sentences for spreading banned books or propagating 'wrong' ideologies (Marxism or communism).

Bonar Tigar Naipospos, popularly known as Coki, spent the last few months of his imprisonment in Cipinang Prison Jakarta, where many other political prisoners are held. He was conditionaJJy released (pembebasan bersyarat) on 17 May and welcomed by more than 50 people outside the prison. Coki was sentenced to 8 years and 6 months in June 1989 and was due for release in July 1997. Earlier this year other political prisoners were conditionaJJy released under a scheme devised by the Jakarta military commander, Major-General Hendro Priyo­ no. Coki also benefitted from this extra-judicial procedure initiated by the security agency Bakorstanas. While condi­ tional release is bound by rules, including compulsory reporting, the scheme is very much dependent on the mood and method of functioning of the authorities. Bambang Subono (Bono) and Bambang Isti Nugroho (Isti) were conditionaJJy ·released in Yogya, Central Java, which involved a more complicated procedure, including having to take an exam in vocational skilJs. Major-General Soeyo­ no, the military commander of Central Java, has warned the two Bambangs not to get involved in politics:

"It's dangerous for them to get together with their friends; they'll come a cropper if they start getting involved in outlawed jJolitical activities. It's up to them. They know Left to right: Subono, Coki and /sti what risks they're taking" [Bernas, 8/6/1994]. caJly aware in the dark days of the eighties. They received The general was commenting on a party organised by eight and a half, eight and seven-year sentences because friends welcoming them back into the community. they were children of that period. They endured humili­ ation, physical torture and periods of depression, but at the The significance of the 3 Bs same time they became a source of inspiration to a new Student activism in Indonesia is often divided into gener­ generation of activists. ations. The 3 Bs represent the generation of the eighties, a rigid period of the New Order when any move towards The future pluralism was seen as subversive. The eighties of the Coki and Bono are planning to finish their studies. Coki Palagan study group were also years of straitjacketing every only needs to take his last paper and has received the green political structure - a single state ideology, a single light from the Dean of the Faculty of Political Science at government party, a single trade union, a single youth Gajah Mada University, Yogyakarta to go ahead. Bono also umbrella, and so on. The trials of the three Bs became the plans .to finish his studies and is certain to get a sympath­ symbol of a new generation. of student activists. There etic response from his faculty. It is doubtful though whether were numerous demonstrations in many cities demanding Isti who formerly worked at the university as a laboratory their release. assistant, wilJ get his job back. The 3 Bs also became the bridge between the discussion While in prison, the three Bs were never isolated. They groups and the more action-oriented activists of the had many visitors, even from abroad. They were adopted as nineties. The study groups created awareness of people's prisoners of conscience and received many letters from role in society; through involvement in campaigns against outside Indonesia. They fo1lowed closely what was happen­ the Kedung Ombo dam and other land evictions, student ing on the political scene, both in Indonesia and abroad. We participation in society became a reality. Coki as founding weJcome back the three Bs as full members of Indonesian member of Yayasan Pijar can be seen as a typical example society. of this gradual development. Pijar underwent a transform­ (Based on newspaper reports: Bernas 18, 19 & 23 May, 7 ation from discussion group to political movement and is & 8 June, Kedaulatan Rakyat 8 June, Suara Pembaruan 18 involved in every important political issue in contemporary May 1994) Indonesia. The three men's only mistake was to be politi-

8 TAPOL Bulletin No. 124, August 1994 LAND DISPUTES Islanders fight against a golf course

Gili Trawangan is a small island on the north coast of Lombok, the island east of Bali. Mass tourism is now taking hold in Lombok as well. Gili Trawangan has been designated to become a tourist paradise; a hotel and golf course will replace the gardens and coconut trees of the islanders.

Small islands in far away third world places are being 'discovered' by real estate developers often in cooperation Lombok with local rulers. In the case of Gili Trawangan, a tiny 20km island of 320 ha, Kumia Candra Kusumah, son of the former governor of West Nusa Tenggara (which includes Bali and Lombok), was given a licence (Hak Guna Usaha, HGU, Permit to Use) to use 100 ha of Gili Trawangan. The permit was issued in 1979, but most of the land was already being tilled by the islanders. In 1972 some islanders started setting up small coconut plantations, along with cassava and soyabean gardens. For many years the situation remained Lombok Strait unchanged; the islanders continued to tiJJ the land while the company, PT Generasi Jaya, owned by Kumia Candra Kusumah, was not interested because of the low agricultural yield of the land. For all those years, the islanders were oblivious of the fact that the land they tilled had been allocated to the company. Tourism as a curse In some cases tourism can benefit the locals, especially if the locals are the decision-makers. In the case of Gili Trawangan, tourism became a curse. Everything changed when the prospect of tourism seemed bright for the region. Parts of Bali became like Ibiza or Costa Brava in Spain so homes, eviction from their land and the compensation the more affluent tourists wanted quieter and cleaner offered by the local authorities. The people of Gili Trawan­ beaches, which is what Gili Trawangan has in abundance. gan described the intimidation used to force them to accept Some adventurous tourists found their way to the island and cash compensation. were welcomed by the islanders. They slept in primitive The islanders stuck to their moderate demands: that the huts provided by the islanders. Gradual1y the islanders built conflict be resolved by means of two-way communication. small bungalows for the few tourists who reached the They rejected the offer of alternative land, demanded that island. But it also gave some enterprising government they be issued with title deeds to the land they have tiJJed officials bright ideas. In 1988 the HGU permit was taken for the last 22 years and want to be allowed to stay on their over by another company, CV Hikmah, which had much original sites. Perhaps the tourists who have enjoyed staying more capital behind it. with the islanders couldn't agree more. Islanders fighting for their land As early as 1983 the islanders approached the local author­ ities asking for title deeds to their land but their request was never answered. That same year the islanders received the GOlF first summons to leave their plots and homes, an area of - ANTI PEOPU AND - 47.5 ha. Over the years harassment was stepped up. Out of ECOLOGICAUY UNFRIENDLY SPORT a total of 76 families, only 29 families remain to fight on. In 1989 the islanders lost a law suit chal1enging the HGU NEW BOOKLET permit of CV Hikmah. The local government was deter­ mined to tum the island into a tourist paradise. In August Content: 1993 the district chief of West Lombok gave the order to * Conversion of destroy all the houses and other buildings and the area was Productive ·Land officiaJly designated a tourist area. Preparations to build a * Land Speculation hotel and golf link were begun. *Evictions On 16 August 1991 a delegation of Gili Trawangan villagers went to Jakarta to file a complaint to parliament. SKEPHI, jl. Pulo The local government had offered them paltry compensation Asem Ray a 23, Jakarta 13220 for the loss of their land and homes. On 14 June 1994 P u bwbed By another delegation visited the National Commission of Sl\EPHI & KAAPLAG Tel 4711388 Human Rights to complain about the destruction of their

TAPOL Bulletin No. 124, August 1994 9 British aid to Indonesia leaps ahead

Amid growing criticism of Bretton Woods, the conference that gave birth to the IMF, the World Bank and GA TT 50 years ago, Indonesia was allocated yet more aid this year. Indonesia is among the world's largest aid recipients and now has the second largest foreign debt. Lauded by the World Bank as their star pupil, the optimistic macro-economic figures conceal a darker picture. Of all Indonesias creditors, the UK has massively increased its aid to Jakarta.

The Consultative Group on Indonesia (CGI) held its annual meeting in Paris on 7 and 8 July 1994 and pledged US$5.2 billion aid to Jakarta. Gautam Kaji, World Bank Vice­ President for East Asia and the Pacific who chaired the meeting conveyed the usual compliments to the Indonesian delegation led by Dr. Saleh Afiff, the Coordinating Minister for Economy and Finance. The total aid for 1994/95 fiscal year went up 1.7% compared with last year, but in real terms it fell by 4.5%, taking account of inflation. Substantial shifts by UK and Spain The only two countries to make substantial changes were Spain and the UK. Both shifts are clearly arms-related. Spain's aid relationship with Indonesia has been very much tied to a joint venture with IPTN, the flagship of Indonesia's arms industry. Last year's aid of US$100.0 million went down this year to US$25.33 million, indicating that no further partnerships are in the pipeline. The only substantial growth is in UK-Indonesia relations. This year the UK committed US$150.49 million, a spec­ tacular rise from last year (US$98.6 million), which was three times the amount allotted the year before (in 1992/93 US$ 35.0 million). In 4 years, British aid to Indonesia has risen almost eightfold, which also reflects the rapid expan­ sion of British economic interests in Indonesia. Britain now stands in third place as donor, after Japan and Germany. The commercial links include the recent deal for 24 Hawk The Bank Duta and Bapindo scandals, Budget leaks 30%, fighter planes, the PT PENI polyethylene plant (a joint Foreign debt US$93 billion. venture between BP Chemicals and Sigit Suharto) and PT Kaltim Prima, a subsidiary of BP Coal, Indonesia's largest by Germany US$157.41 million (last year US$138.7 coal mine. million), France US$140.57 (US$123.3 million), United States US$89.60 (US$90.4 million), Australia US$47.66 Otherwise, few changes (US$40.2 million), Switzerland US$23.41 million (US$- 26.0) and Canada US$25.33 million (US$ 30.5 million). Japan remains Indonesia's biggest donor and although Tokyo had no government, aid rose from US$1.44 billion last year to US$1.67 billion. The increase was due to the An economy in trouble current dollar crisis and the appreciation of the yen against Indonesia's seemingly stable economic performance has the dollar. The aid consists of US$1.5 billion in soft loans taken several knocks lately. The Medan riots has upset and US$170 million in grants and technical assistance. many foreign investors, in particular those in the Asia­ Japan was the only donor to provide US$200 million in Pacific region. The closing down of the 3 political weeklies fast-disbursing assistance, aid that can be used to bridge the made another dent in Indonesia's international image. But current account deficit. The World Bank and the Asian statistics portray a very worrying prospect. For the first time Development Bank gave US$1.5 billion and US$1.1 billion in 20 years, the state budget recorded a deficit of 1.8 respectively (down from US$1.6 billion and US$1.2 trillion rupiahs (US$600 million). The sudden rise in oil billion). prices from US$13 to US$16 may have relieved Finance Other multilateral bodies made pledges: the Nordic Minister Mar'ie Muhammad, but other figures give cause Investment Bank US$35 million, United Nations agencies for concern. US$50.5 million, the Islamic Development Bank US$65 Exports of manufacturing goods have been poor. The million, the International Fund for Agricultural Develop­ world recession is affecting Indonesia's export-oriented ment US$26.07 million, UNICEF US$14 million, and the industry. Exports in the latter part of 1993 and the first European Investment Bank US$54.89 million. quarter of 1994 continued sluggish. Indonesia's comparative From the individual donor countries pledges were made advantage (mainly cheap labour) has created a huge

10 TAPOL Bulletin No. 124, August 1994 expansion of industrial complexes. But this economic 'miracle' has been achieved by exploiting and suppressing JCS the workers. The achievements are fading as foreign investments begin to slow down and exports falter. responsible for brutal repression in East Timor, West Papua amd the Moluccas. A spokesperson for the Moluccan External debt people, said: "Lending to Indonesia heralds for us, the Indonesia's external debt is around US$93 billion and debt indigenous people, only more suffering , further service payments consume more than 30% of export marginalisation and increased deforestation." earnings. Almost half is denominated in yen, creating an Responding to an Indonesian minister's defence of even heavier burden. There is now what is known as transmigration when he said: "Contrary to what observers negative transfer, which means that more money flows out may think, we do not want any part of our society to be left in repayments than comes in as aid. Indonesia has already behind in the Stone Age," a spokesperson of the West spent 34.5 trillion rupiah in negative transfer. Indonesia's Papua People's Front rejected this insulting stereotype: CGI creditors have no option but to provide yet more credit to make sure of getting their money back. "Our people are being discriminated against in the jobs The sums involved would be enough to give substantial market in favour of transmigrants. Women are now too rises to the millions of underpaid civil servants and factory afraid to go to the hospitals because many have been workers. The debt trap has Indonesia in its grip; debt injected or operated on without their knowledge to stop rescheduling would be a relief but is no long-term solution. them bearing children. " It is the economic blueprint of the World Bank and IMF that should be questioned. The human and environmental A number of French NGOs INFID (Indonesian NGO costs are simply too high. Forum on Indonesian Development) wrote to the French government about the high level of French aid to Indonesia, Public protests in Paris mentioning non-respect of Jabour rights, non-respect of There were public protests and two press conferences in East Timor's right to self-determination and many banking Paris condemning CGI aid to Indonesia, linked to the scandals. The Bapindo scandal involves nearly half a billion campaign, Fifty Years in Enough to mark the 50th anniver­ dollars, equivalent to ten per cent of the CGI's annual aid sary of the founding of the World Bank and the IMF. to Indonesia. This scandal, says INFID, involves a tycoon Tribal Act, an NGO which defends the rights of indigen­ associated of one of President Suharto's sons. ous peoples said that years of aid from the two agencies The closure of three weeklies in Indonesia was also raised were propping up a dictatorial military regime which is during the protests.

Demonstrators at the CG/ meeting: "From West Papua to East Timor, respect for the rights of the indigenous people are ignored by Indonesia, aided by the World Bank." [Photo: Stephane Teste]

continued from page 5 TAPOL Occasional Reports No. 24 strikers and a lawyer from the Institute were among those arrested. Bambang Wijayanto, an LBH lawyer said that the police had threated to close the Institute down. "The police have Indonesian Monopolies acted brutally. We condemn their action. The Institute has in East Timor done nothing against the law," Bambang said. The forty-three people arrested were charged in court the by: Dr. George Aditjondro next day and ordered to pay a fine of Rp2,000 each. This time, however, they refused to do so and told the court they would appeal to the Supreme Court for a ruling on their £1.00 p&p right to demonstrate.

TAPOL Bulletin No. 124, August 1994 11 LABOUR CONFLICTS

Workers against the military

Strikes are still a daily routine in Indonesia; they become the logical expression of workers' grievances against the management. Low wages and military interference have become the pattern in the booming manufacturing areas of Sumatra and Java. This time, we report on a strike at a cigarette and match factory in Pematang Siantar in North Sumatra.

North Sumatra has traditionalJy been at the heart of many so a strike was launched. The next day the wages were paid plantation industries like tobacco and rubber, but in the last but still without any specification. On the third day a 20 years an array of new manufacturing industries have delegation of workers met the management but they emerged in the area. Pematang Siantar, a town of 200,000 received no response to their grievances. A sit-in was held inhabitants which is 125km south-east of the capital in front of the office. Suddenly, security guards attacked the Medan, is now at the centre of a bitter conflict of workers workers, 85% of whom are women, with sticks and knives. against management and the military. Eight people were injured and had to be taken to hospital. A few hours later practica11y the entire workforce of the Edwin Bingei, the philanthropist? four companies, about 6,000 people, walked out, demanding The strike at NV STTC (Sumatra Tobacco Trading Com­ justice over the violence perpetrated by the security guards. pany) started on 1 June and has not yet been resolved The troops arrived from the local district military com­ satisfactorily. As with many other strikes, the workers mand KOREM 022/PT. One of the strike-leaders, Abdul organised themselves outside the official SPSI (the sole Siagian, was arrested by the military. That same morning union recognised by the government). The STTC-group is the workers marched to KOREM 022/PT , an unprecedented part of a trust of four companies owned by Edwin Bingei act of courage. On the following days the strike continued. known as the cigarette king of North Sumatra. He also has On 6 June the same 6,000 workers marched to the local a reputation as a public benefactor in the city. The public office of the Department of Labour with their initial library, road improvements and bus shelters have alJ been demands but now also demanding the release of Abdul paid for by the philanthropist. What people do not know is Siagian. The same crowd marched to the local police that Edwin Bingei deducts Rp5,000 each month from every station, Po/res, and again to the KOREM 022/PT. On 7 worker to pay for his largesse. Hence, the workers are June they held another rally in front of the Po/res office but paying an extra tax for alJ the public services. their colleague remained in custody. The next day, still frustrated, the workers went back to work but another incident soon erupted. A worker named Effendi S. got into a fight with a plainclothes military and was taken away. Workers' control A clash was now unavoidable and workers clashed physi­ ca11y with military and company security guards. Some 3,000 workers inside the factory managed to take control of the premises and for the next 30 hours the factory was occupied by the workers. Three foremen were also held by the workers but they were unharmed. A huge combined military and police force then encircled the entire STTC compound. At 3.00a.m. on 9 June anti­ terrorist units from Medan were dropped by helicopter on the premises of the factory. At 9.00am the anti-terrorist squads backed by other security units launched their attack. The unarmed workers were no match. The level of violence on the part of the troops was extraordinary. Some 200 workers were driven off in trucks to KOREM 022/PT. Later The conflict first started at the cigarette and match factory that evening most were released but 26 workers were kept but spread later to the other companies. in detention. Those in detention were very badly treated: The workers with no official union demanded a proper kicked with jack-boots, given electric shocks, beaten with specification of their wages as they were only being given sticks or rifle-butts. The names of some of those in cash in envelopes. Nothing was paid for extra hours detention have been listed: Roince Sagala, Togar Marbun, worked. Their wages range from Rp90,000 to Rp150,000 a Khairani Lubis, Edwin Sihotang, Helen Galungging, month (£30 to £50), just enough to keep a worker from Hotmauli Situmeang, Rosmauli Sipayung, Roliance Naing­ starvation. golan and Usmiadi. In the next few days, members from some local NGOs Escalation were taken from their offices: Ronsen Purba and Dosmerita The workers failed to get any details about their wages and Purba from FKPM were taken in for interrogation. still worse received no wages at alJ on the first day of June

12 TAPOL Bulletin No. 124, August 1994 Further clampdown The military seem determined to crush the workers' resis­ 1J/jB(JtJR CONFLICTS tance. By means of intimidation, more than 200 workers have been forced to resign from the company. Thirteen were used to crush the strike. workers remain in custody at Polres, the local police office, Another conclusion is that the workers managed to and have been refused permission to receive visitors. Abdul organise themselves in orderly fashion. No formal union Siagian and Ronsen Purba are still in detention and it is structure exists but the STTC workers organised themselves. expected that the fifteen detainees will be brought before The workers demands were very moderate: better com­ the courts on a variety of charges. munications with the management could have resolved the Although the conflict is far from over, some tentative dispute. It was arrogance on the part of the management conclusions can be drawn. Edwin Bingei is a man with and owners of STTC that caused the escalation, a typical clout; both the military and the police are only too ready to example of conflict management in boom-town manufac­ do his bidding as generous financial rewards will follow. turing in the Asia Pacific. Arrogance of power, wealthy The North Sumatra military command are still smarting factory owners and security forces in collusion against the from events in April when workers revolted in Medan. population. The problems are far from over as brute Army commanders are determined not to let this happen in oppression will never resolve anything. Pematang Siantar. Huge reinforcements from outside Siantar Medan workers on trial

Eighty-four people are now on trial for their involvement in the Medan workers' demonstrations in April. The majority of the defendants are being charged for allegedly taking part in destroying shops, homes and factories while others will be tried for incitement.

The first trials started in early June and had concluded by Sihotang has announced that they will be charged under the end of the month. The district court of Medan will Article 160 for incitement; under this article, they could handle altogether 44 cases; most of the defendants are being receive sentences of up to six years. tried in groups. Four people are at present being intensively interrogated: The first two trials involved four people: Sugiono, Arifin, Maiyasyak Johan, a well-known lawyer from (LAA!, Nobel Samosir and Usahanta Ginting. These set the Indonesian Institute for Child Advocacy) has been under pattern for the subsequent cases. The four defendants constant interrogation since 18 June,; Jannes Hutahean of withdrew their earlier decision to be assisted by a defence a labour rights organisation, YKPS, and Parlin Manihuruk team, as a result of which lawyers from the Legal Aid from a local NGO Pondok Rakyat Kreatif, were taken into Institute were told the leave the court. Press reports gave custody on 13 June. the impression that their decision not to have lawyers had Mochtar Pakpahan the well-known chair of the SBSI not been taken voluntarily. was summoned for questioning by the Medan police. So far As is the custom in other group trials, the defendants were police and military intelligence have had two heavy required to appear as witnesses in each other's trials. There sessions with the union leader, lasting 19 and 8 hours. was strong evidence that the trials were manipulated Mochtar Pakpahan, who is based in Jakarta, has filed a (direkayasa, a widely used expression these days in Indo­ request to the chief-of-police asking for further questioning nesia). Some defendants said in court that confessions to be carried out in Jakarta. contained in their interrogation reports (BAP) had been TAPOL Bulletin hopes to report these trials in greater extracted under duress. Usahanta Ginting complained that detail in the next issue. he had been beaten with bare fists and sticks. In another trial Suyatno, Hanafi and one defendant identified only as .,·_ . .:···. . ST, also retracted confessions contained in their BAP. Held for questioning Suyatno told the court that he was illiterate and could not read his BAP. The first men to be tried, Sugiono, Arifm, Nobel Samosir TAPOL ~ctivist Liem Soei Liong was taken in for and Usahanta Ginting were sentenced to four months each. interrogation for 3 days in Jakarta in late June• .As he The others being charged as rioters are likely to receive was about to leave the country from the· Sukamo- similar sentences. Hatta airport, ·he was held by officers of BIA, the Despite all the obstructions, a large team of lawyers called ·· military. inte11igence. After spending a day at Wisma Team Pembela Kasus Buruh Medan (Lawyers' Team for the Sudirman, a military compound, he was taken to Medan Workers Cases), including lawyers from North · }'olda Metro Jaya, the Jakarta Police headquarters for Sumatra as well as from Jakarta, has been formed to assist further questioning. The following day he was taken · to the main Immigration Office for the -same purpose. all the accused. On 1 July, he was officially deported from the coun­ try on the grounds that he was "a po~ible threat to "Instigators" of the riots security and order". · Another series of trials is in preparation which will involve The questioning focused on TAPOL's network of leaders of the trade union SBSI and some activists from contacts in Indonesia and abroad. local NGOs. Trials have also started of two members of SBSI, identified only as ADZ and SZ. State prosecutor

TAPOL Bulletin No. 124, August 1994 13 Batak church activist murdered in cold blood

Members of the Batak protestant church who reject the bishop appointed by the army to head the church took their protest to Jakarta when ministers demonstrated for several days outside Parliament in Jakarta. The rights of hundreds of thousands of Batak protestants to practise their religion without fear is now at stake.

The more than two hundred ministers, dressed in their black responsible for Hutasoit's abduction and murder. The cassocks, drew attention to their grievances and managed to suspicion that the police are protecting the Tiara Task Force talk to members of some of the parliamentary groups. But is reinforced by the fact that no autopsy of the dead man's conflicting statements by members of the government about body was carried out before his burial on 2 June. attitudes towards the government appointee left the source "This is a murder case, so why was there no autopsy? It's of the conflict unresolved. as if the police want to wash their hands of it." They were also protesting against the latest atrocity perpetrated by army-backed hooligans which led to the Church ministers want army chief punished murder of a human rights activist, and also against the The ministers protesting to Parliament demanded that the detention and torture of three ministers and the young former North Sumatra military commander, Major-General relative of one of the ministers. [For background to the Pramono, be punished for naming the new bishop and conflict and the military interference in HKBP affairs, see meddling in the church's internal affairs. They want the TAPOL Bulletin, No. 123, June 1994] military to relinquish their powers to use churches to and liquidate the security units it has set up to secure the Activist murdered in cold blood position of the pro-government bishop. They also want a An account of the latest atrocity suffered by a member of democratic grand synod to be convened to elect a new the church appeared in one of the last issues of DeTik, the bishop. weekly tabloid banned on 21 June. [DeTik, 8-14/6/1994] On 1 June, Herbert Hutasoit, 48, was found dead in Banualuhu, Pagaran sub-district, North Sumatra. His body was covered with wounds and there was a bullet wound in his chest. His head was partly severed and his penis had been slashed. The victim had arrived in the village the day before, after hearing that it had been under attack by the Tiara Task Force of the pro-government Simanjuntak wing of the church. Hutasoit, who was secretary of a church forum set up to gather data about the human rights violations against church members, had come to investigate reports of atrocities at the village. He discovered that at least thirteen homes had been destroyed. A villager named S. Sianturi, 48, told the Legal Aid Institute in Medan: "Who else could have done this but (members of) the Task Force?" Also, on 29 May, three villagers were abducted by the Tiara Task Force. When they returned home, their faces were unrecognisable and their bodies were covered in bruises and wounds. Things came to a head when vehicles encircled the village on 31 May. When Herbert Hutasoit saw this, he went out into the street to see what was going on. Soon after, the vehicles turned round and shots rang out. Herbert fell His uncle saw him being dragged away by people dressed in HKBP ministers go to parliament camouflage. He saw the men stab at Herbert's head and Leading the protesting ministers, Rev. Martono Sitinjak throw him onto the vehicle. said that to secure Simanjuntak's leadership, security When, the next day his body was found near a neighbour's authorities in North Sumatra had barred others from using house, fear engulfed the village. The police and army came the churches and were abducting and torturing dissident to the village and started questioning the vilJagers. When ministers. Since last year, 220 ministers have been tortured Herbert's uncle said he would testify, the police disputed his in detention and some of those are stilJ being held, he said. claim that the person who fired the initial shot was dressed According to the protestors, thousands of HKBP members in camouflage and yelled: "Don't record that!" according to now Jive in fear as security authorities have recruited thugs Saut Sirait, director of the HKBP Youth Department. to terrorise and blackmail dissident members, vandalising Sirait says he is certain the Tiara Task Force was their homes and intimidating them. [Jakarta Post, 18 June 1994]

14 TAPOL Bulletin No. 124, August 1994 continued from page I ln statements to the press after the incident, the armed forces and the Department of Foreign Affairs alleged that IEAST TIMOR security forces had been compelled to take action because 'irresponsible elements' incited the demonstrators into communication are. becoming 'highly emotional and brutal' and throwing stones. TAPOL has called for international observers to visit East According to the Foreign Affairs Department, the security Timor as a matter of urgency to ascertain the facts about forces took action because the demonstrators failed to heed what happened on 14 July. warnings by the security authorities. Stirring up religious conflict When students at the University organised their demonstration, they were responding to the deliberately provocative harassment of two Catholic nuns on campus on 13 July who were waiting to take an examination. Three men parading as students started taunting them with comments like, "Why don't you get married?", "Wouldn't you like to get pregnant?" Other students came to their defence and started attacking the men who, according to some accounts, were seriously wounded. Documents found on the men revealed that they were members of police and army intelligence and have been named as Abdul Hamid, Tadung Massora and Purwanto; the latter was carrying a pistol. Infuriated by the incident, the students tried to make contact with members of the local assembly to explain their grievances but the members did not reponse which is why they decided to go to the assembly the next day. We now know from the Rector's statement that they had been The Foreign Minister Ali Alatas - making his first public granted permission for this march by the local police force. appearance after suffering a heart attack at the height of the University staff, including the deputy rector, joined in the Manila Conference diplomatic row - responded to a protest, including the deputy rector, Armin do Maia. statement by the US embassy in Jakarta calling for the army in East Timor to show restraint, by insisting that the army Desecrating the hosts 'had shown restraint'. His words however have been But this was not an isolated event. On 28 June, the contradicted by the University Rector himself. congregation at St Joseph's Church in Remexio were stunned when two men, who turned out to be soldiers, Rector puts the record straight participated in holy communion even though they were not Clearly frustrated that the Indonesian press published the Christians and the publicly desecrated the communion host, first two official statements without checking the facts with spitting out the wafers and trampling them underfoot. the University authorities, Dr. Bratasudarma SJ, Rector of This deeply offensive gesture profoundly offended the the University of East Timor, issued a statement on 17 July Catholic community. Eleven members of the Remexio accusing the armed forces and the Foreign Ministry of church were later detained and maltreated for protesting giving one-sided accounts. The violence began, he said, against this act of sacrilege and Bishop Belo, head of the when the security forces started attacking the demonstrators Church, strongly protested to General Feisal Tanjung, with batons, kicks, tear-gas and dogs, also striking people armed forces commander-in-chief. with their shields. The Rector said that the most serious News of the Remexio incident quickly spread and early in injuries were sustained by students who fled the scene, July, a crowd more than 350-strong staged a rally carrying jumped over a hedge and ran into the complex of the banners saying, "Long live Jesus", "Long live the Catholic army's Company C. There they were severely beaten up by Church" and "Indonesia does not respect religious freedom". members of the Company. East Timor's military commander, Colonel Lumintang The Rector's aim in issuing his statement, which he called expressed 'regrets' over the incident and said the soldiers his 'Right of Reply' under the terms of the 1982 Basic Press had been disciplined and would be court-martialled. The Law, was clearly intended to rectify the disinformation put East Timorese however are not satisfied and are demanding about by the authorities. To our knowledge however, none that the soldiers be tried in public and severely punished. of the Indonesian media has dared to publish his account They well remember the meaninglessness of 'punishments' which contradicts the official version. The Rector also meted out by the army to lower-ranking soldiers who were stressed that the University was still gathering evidence and tried for their part in the Santa Cruz massacre. witnesses' testimony in order to obtain a fuller picture of This latest twist in the behaviour of the forces of what really happened. occupation suggests that the army is looking for a new It should be stressed that the University of East Timor strategy to diffuse East Timorese opposition to their rule. was set up in Dili in an attempt to create a centre of The Indonesian regime has for many years used the term Indonesian learning that would coax young East Timorese SARA which stands for suku, ras, agama dan antar­ to taking a more pro-integration stance. The former and the golongan - ethnic allegiances, race, religion and inter­ present rectors are both Javanese. That the present Rector group animosities - to characterise the activities of some should have felt it necessary to issue a statement rejecting groups in Indonesia. Incidents deemed to touch on alleged the army's version, which will probably go unreported in 'SARA sensitivities' have to be treated as a threat to Indonesia, is a mark of how controlled the means of national security.

TAPOL Bulletin No. 124, August 1994 15 pro-democracy issues, shifting it to fundamental securif! IEAST TIMOR issues. This would allow Suharto to reaffirm his authoritarian grip on society, which has lately been waning. It is to Jakarta's advantage to tum East Timor's revulsion against the forces of occupation into a Muslim-Christian Many arrests and 'disappearances' conflict, as indeed it used provocateurs to tum the massive Reports from East Timor confirm that fourteen wounded labour unrest in Medan last April into an anti-Chinese riot. people, some seriously, were being treated at the As the East Timorese resistance movement, the CNRM said Wirahusada military hospital. Other wounded people are in a statement on 19 July: likely to have avoided being taken to the military hospital, fearing what can happen to them there. Twenty-two people .. . deliberate provocation of Catholics have been were arrested and were being held either by the police or occurring in Java, East Nusatenggara and East Timor. the anny and nine were listed as 'disappeared'. These could Catholics are being provoked into attacking Muslims thus well include the three persons thought to have been killed allowing the latter to strike back in 'legitimate' defence. A when troops attacked the students with such ferocity on 14 managed religious conflict would deflect attention from July. growing public concern with corruption, succession and Suharto, the regional bully

A conference in the Philippines to make East Timor an issue in the region of South East Asia succeeded beyond the wildest dreams of the organisers, all because Indonesia went to such lengths to stop it from taking place. Indonesian bullying turned what would have been Just another conference' into the epicentrum ofa major diplomatic row and an ongoing media story. As bullies never learn, the same happened a six weeks later to a seminar in Bangkok.

Plans to hold the Asia-Pacific Conference on East Timor were initiated by a group caHed Initiatives for International Dialogue in 1992. Manila was chosen because, following the overthrow of Marcos, the Philippines has a more demo­ cratic constitution and certainly a more vigorous press than any country in the ASEAN (Association of the South East Asian Nations) alliance whose members consist of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thai­ land. Invitations were sent to celebrities and solidarity groups around the world with every effort being made to ensure the presence of people from Asia and the Pacific. Naturally, the presence of East Timorese was of-crucial importance. In the event, the Conference took place, it was weJJ attended and produced an important resolution , but not without a great deal of obstruction. Intense diplomatic arm-twisting For years, Suharto has taken the lead in condemning all attempts at conditioning aid/arms sales by linkage with human rights violations on the grounds that this constitutes interference in its internal affairs. But when it came to an Lively atmosphere during the APCET conference event in Indonesia's backyard, conditionality and crass interference was definitely 'in'. bly. So Jakarta began to tighten the screws: Indonesian The first signs that Indonesia was worried came when the businessmen puUed out of a major business conference and Indonesian embassy in Manila made approaches to have it trade fair in Davao city promoting an industrial triangle stopped. The Philippine security chief discussed the matter involving Sulawesi, major contracts involving Indonesian with R.C. Constantino, head of the organising committee. capital would be scrapped and rights for Philippine fisher­ For the organisers, Constantino said there was no intention men withdrawn. Nothing, it seemed, would be left of the to excJude pro-integration views and the Indonesian rapidly expanding Indonesian investment programme in the government was welcome to take part. In the ensuing Philippines. Indeed, the extent of Indonesian economic consultations, the embassy submitted the names of four leverage was far greater than many observers had realised. Timorese who they wisbed to be invited. One had been Projects worth more than $450 million were at risk not invited already. including a major toll-road worth more than $200 million When Jakarta continued to insist that the conference to be built by a company owned by Suharto's oldest should be halted, President Fidel Ramos said this wa~ not daughter, Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana, otherwise known as possible as the Constitution guarantees the right of assem- Tutut'.

16 TAPOL Bulletin No. 124, August 1994 A top political adviser, former foreign minister Raul Manglapus, was dispatched to Jakarta to explain Manila's STTIMOR difficulties but Indonesia was unyielding. "No conference, or else". Jakarta and see Xanana Gusmao. Then came an order from the President's palace that But in Manila, foreign guests were arriving regardless of foreigners would be barred. This would tum the event into the ban. After all, who could distiguish between delegates an insignificant local event and in particular bar East and tourists? But plenty of people were barred from Timorese from attending. Soon a blacklist was circulated entering including several Timorese whose names had not with eight names, including six top East Timorese activists, been on any blacklist, and a group of Sri Lankans who tried among them Jose Ramos Horta and the external leaders of - twice - to get in. Fretilin and UDT, and two TAPOL activists, Carmel Budiardjo and Liem Soei Liong. (As it happens, TAPOL Court restraining order was only intending to send Liem.) Then more blacklists Not satisfied with Manila's decision to exclude foreigners, appeared, thick and fast; most names were Timorese, but a group of Jakarta cronies hastily created a Philippine­ there was an amazing assortment of international celebrities Indonesia Friendship Society which then convinced a judge like Danielle Mitterand, wife of the French president who to issue a Restraining Order preventing APCET from taking heads the human rights organisation, France Libertes, place for two weeks. Would this scupper the event after all? Mairead Maguire, the Irish Nobel laureate, Bishop AJoisius Again the press and supporters around the world were agog Soma (Japan), Bishop Hilton Deakin (Australia) and many with interest. Constantino made it clear that come what more. may, the conference would go ahead, even though plans to use the University of the Philippines as the venue had been Indonesia's "28th province" thrown into doubt. By this time, a few days before the conference was set to Meanwhile some of the foreign delegates who had begin, the Philippine print and screen media was awash escaped the dragnet at the airport started appearing in with news of the event and the wire services were buzzing public, on television, in press conferences. It was one thing with the latest reports. The Philippine press, with few to deport people on arrival, but quite another to order exceptions, was tearing the government apart for caving in people already inside to leave. This could only take place to pressure from Jakarta. Basic issues were at stake, the by means of a court order. For the time being at least, they Constitution, academic freedom and freedom of assembly were 'safe'. (Ultimately, a court attempt to deport them fell and expression. The Philippines was now being described foul of a powerful group of lawyers battling on their behalf as Indonesia's "twenty-eighth province". and they were permitted to remain in the country until well Then Nobel laureate Maguire turned up at Manila airport, after the conference came to an end.) accompanied by Tom Hyland of the East Timor Ireland Solidarity Campaign. With not a moment's concern for the Triumphal opening media impact, the two were told to board the next plane The legal challenge to the Restraining Order took days to back, but not before they had held a press conference at the prepare and was mounted on the morning the conference airport with reports of the deportation beamed everywhere. was to begin. The challenge was successful so the first Back in Dublin, the two were given a heroes' welcome. session which began minutes later was a gloriously trium­ In France meanwhile, Madame Mitterand had cancelled phal event. her plans to attend but held a press conference instead, at The more than two dozen foreign delegates gathered at which she lambasted Indonesia as an authoritarian regime their campus hostel and, encircled by a double cordon of which had used "tyrannical pressure" on her, a "kind of Filipinos swarming to protect them, they walked to the blackmail". She told the press she had received an extreme­ conference venue, surrounded by priests, nuns, monks, ly angry letter from Suharto rejecting her request to visit students, housewives, human rights activists. Said one of the foreign delegates later: "We could not have been plucked from safety by lurking policemen, at least not without an ugly battle. There were as many press people as bodyguarqs." Meanwhile, Japan's Bishop Soma, prevented on his first try from departing for Manila because the airline refused to allow him onto the plane, managed to spike the barring order (the Manila authorities had to relent because of his close links with the Philippines in other areas) and arrived in Manila on the second day of the conference. Preaching at Mass in the UP chapel, he spoke movingly of his recent visit to East Timor:

'Blessed are those who work for justice. ' 17ie people of East Timor are fighting for justice and they are blessed. We must not lose hope. God is raising the people everywhere to walk alongside the East Timorese. Those who work for East Timor are doing God's work. Please make the tears and suffering of the East Timorese our own. Foreign delegates surrounded by a cordon of Filipino activists

TAPOL Bulletin No. 124, August 1994 17 sia's roving ambassador and visits by Portuguese to Indo­ EASTTIMOR nesia. He also suggested that she was involved in a CIA­ style operation to switch Portugal's politics to the right as In 1989, Bishop Belo wrote that the world has forgotten the only way to end Portugal's opposition to Indonesia's East Timor. Let us show that this is not true. integration of East Timor. The prize would be turning Portugal into an entry point for Indonesia into the European The impact of APCET in Indonesia common market. The huge media interest surrounding APCET was not lost on the Indonesian press and public. Why all the fuss about The myths befogging Indonesian perceptions a conference in Manila? What about Indonesians who had The conference gave one of its most enthusiastic wekomes been invited to attend? Would they be allowed to leave? to Rachland Nashidik, who chairs Yayasan Pijar, the Would they be barred from entering the Philippines? Indonesian activist network. He said the decision to attend Whatever the approach taken by various sections of the for Indonesians meant taking risks but he recalled that, back press, whether concerned at this 'affront to ASEAN solidar­ in the 1940s, some Dutch had taken far greater risks in ity' as the government saw it, or bemused by this clumsy supporting Indonesia's struggle for independence. The act of bullying, East Timor was again in the news. myths spread by the Indonesian government had turned the In an editorial entitled, "Tim or conference debacle", the annexation paid for by the Timorese with blood and tears Jakarta Post wrote: into 'integration' accompanied by flowers and joy. "It is this mythification that has caused Indonesian society to react in ... yesterday we read of a scuffle in front of the Indonesian a very reactionary way to international criticism of East embassy in Kuala Lumpur between Indonesian workers and Tim or ... and has placed democratic elements in Indonesia members of Malaysian NGOs who came to protest Indone­ in a difficult position," he said. sia's 'occupation' of East Timor. Meanwhile the Manila conference itself continues to get major world media Our primary reason for coming to this conference is to coverage. extend our solidarity.. . Our first commitment is to justice: As we watch those images on the television and read the that the people of East Timor should have the opportunity media reports on the furor over the conference, one ques­ to determine their own fate. Only then can there be peace tion keeps nagging in our minds: Is this the kind of between Indonesia and East Timor, and the violence which publicity that we really want? has cost so many lives be ended. Perhaps it is too far-fetched to liken the damage of the "Manila incident" to that of the "Dili incident" of November Interference in Thailand backfires 1991. But there are some similarities. .. that for a long time But this is not the end of the story. Groups in other Asian to come the world's attention will continue to focus on East countries have been affected by the mood. It was in Timor ... " [Jakarta Post, l.6.1994J Malaysia that the idea to have a seminar on East Timor was first mooted, soon after the APCET event. The meeting On the same day, The Times of London, as if to drive went ahead despite Indonesian protests and with no appar­ home the point The Post was making, published an editorial ent effort by the Malaysian government to stop it. entitled: "A Regional Bully: Manila caves in to Jakarta over East Timor". It gave a brief run down of the "unsavoury story" and concluded with the words:

The only positive aspect of this episode is that it should earn vigorous opprobrium for Indonesia. International attention will return once more to the plight of those who live - and die - in that wretched "twenty-seventh prov­ ince", occupied East Timor. Aditjondro exposes Jakarta's fears Among the many Indonesians invited to Manila was George Aditjondro, the academic who has publicly exposed the illegality of Indonesia's annexation of East Timor, and human rights activist, H.J.C. Princen. They went to the Philippine embassy in Jakarta to protest against the obstacles being put in APCET's way. They had both been blacklisted from entering the Philippines. In a hard-hitting interview published in Editor (three weeks before it was banned), Aditjondro said Indonesia's wrath was prompted by the fear of a conference on East Timor being held so near to home. "The ferocity is intended to prevent Indonesians from having the courage to attend. It's a double-edged sword... to force the Philippines to knuckle under to Indonesia's wishes while dampening the eagerness of human rights activists to attend." Aditjondro dwelt at some length on the role of Suharto's New Brochure: £ 6.00 daughter in bank-roHing the East Timor reconciliation meeting in London, the travels of Lopes da Cruz, Indone- British Coalition for East Timor P.O.Box 2349, London El 3HX

18 TAPOL BuJletin No. 124, August 1994 But when human rights groups in Thailand announced their intention to hold a seminar in Bangkok to discuss the EAST -TIMOR human rights situations in East Timor and Burma, the Indonesian bully-boys turned on the screws. a spokesman told reporters, "especially since Indonesia is an The Thai seminar came at a particularly sensitive time, ASEAN country and we have lots of projects ... trade and just three days before the annual meeting of ASEAN in investment." The trick was to insist that NGO delegates Bangkok. The South East Asia Human Rights Network had wishing to visit Bangkok would need work permits which decided to focus on East Timor and Burma. Burma was have to be applied for 30 days in advance. All very famil iar chosen because the Thai government had invited the stuff. Burmese government to attend the ASEAN meeting which Thai NGOs strongly objected to. Three people deported Some people inevitably asked: "Will they never learn?" As the seminar was about to get under way, three people The answer is quite simply, No. Suharto, who was certainly were suddenly deported by the Thai authorities. Among the one to insist on blackmailing Manila over APCET, has them was Magherita Tracanelli, media director of the East his mind set on keeping East Timor off the agenda throu­ Timorese resistance council, the CNRM. Two others, in the ghout South East Asia, come what may. It has been for him country with her, film-maker Frank Coorey from Australia one of the few redeeming features of international concern and Lito Ocampo, a Philippine photographer, were also that Jakarta has made sure of total regional support, in the ordered to leave. CNRM co-chairman Jose Ramos Horta South Pacific as well as in South East Asia. This is so told the press Jakarta had threatened to delay implementing important to him that he will risk media exposure however an agreed growth-triangle joint development project if negative, as long as he can keep the governments on side. Thailand allowed Timorese activists to attend the confer­ But this is also one sign that Suharto is losing his touch as ence. a deft political operator; another is his huge political Pressure on the University where the seminar was to take blunder in banning the country's leading weeklies. They are place forced it to withdraw and a hotel was used instead. both signs of weakness, not of strength. The organisers were beset by difficulties but, as we went to A week before the seminar was due to commence, the press, they were determined to go ahead regardless, revel­ Thai government announced that eleven delegates, all of ling in the fact that every press conference they called was them apparently East Timorese, would be barred from packed out, and the Thai press were eagerly reporting all entering the country. The reason? "The meeting would the twists in this latest diplomatic wrangle focused on East damage the relationship between Thailand and Indonesia," Tim or. Belo accuses western governments of lying

Bishop Belo, head of the Catholic Church of East Timar, has accused western governments of deliberately lying about the situation in his country. "Their lies and hypocrisy, " he said, "are in the cause of economic interests. "

Speaking to journalist John Pilger in a rare interview by Asked whether there was a second massacre of the phone, the Bishop talked about the "routine nightmare that wounded, Belo said: we live under". [The two-page article based on this interview appeared in the 15 July 1994 issue of New "There were certainly more killings, but I don't know how Statesman and Society, London, and was also published in many. Some of the killings happened near my house. When the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, Melbourne.) I visited the hospital at 11 am on the day of the first Bishop Belo refuted statements of western officials who massacre, 12 November, there were hundreds of wounded. have sought to cast doubt on the credibility of witnesses to When I came back the next day, there were only 90. a "second massacre" in Dili, in November 1991. Referring Witnesses of the killings have told me the killings of the to a claim by Australia's Foreign Minister, Gareth Evans, wounded began at 8 o'clock that night and that most of the that a second round of killings did not happen, he said: deaths occurred between two and three in the morning of "How does he know? Is he here, with us? I know well the the 13th when the lights suddenly went down in the city. I witnesses. They have spoken the truth." don't know what happened to these people. Maybe they were put into the sea. I told all I knew to the commission A massacre, not an aberration of inquiry sent by Jakarta but they weren't interested. Asked about Foreign Minister Evans' assertion that the Dili massacre on 12 November 1991 was an 'aberration', Bishop Belo accuses Evans of lying Belo said: When Belo was reminded by Pilger that Gareth Evans had cast doubt on the veracity of the witnesses to these later "Unfortunately, I do not have a good impression of this killings, Belo's reply was specific: Mr Evans because of the extraordinary statements he makes. This was not an incident. It was a real massacre. It "It is they who are lying. 11iis is more hypocrisy and was well-prepared. It was a deliberate operation that was attempts to cover the truth for economic reasons. " designed to teach us a lesson. To say otherwise is to deny the evidence of our eyes. Bishop took over as head of the East Timor church in 1983, after Mgr Martinho da Costa Lopes was forced to

TAPOL Bulletin No. 124, August 1994 19 Bishop Ximenes Belo Photo: Hugh O'Shaughnessy

retire and leave the country because of his outspokenness never been worse here. There are more restrictions than on human rights abuses. Belo had been ordained in Portugal ever before. No one can speak. No one can demonstrate. as a priest only three years earlier, in 1980, and was not in People disappear.... For the ordinary people, there is no East Timor at the time of the invasion. At the time, his freedom, only a continuing nightmare.'.' appointment to head the Church was resented by the local priests who had not been consulted on the choice and they UN responds, at last refused to attend his inauguration. It was apparently the In March 1989, he wrote to then UN Secretary-General, hope of the army and the Vatican's representative in Jakarta Peres de Cuellar, calling for help from the international that Belo would be more pliable but it was not long before body for a referendum in East Timor. Stressing that the this young priest began, like his predecessor, to condemn people of East Timor had never been consulted on their the activities of the :Indonesian occupiers. status, Bishop Belo wrote: "We are dying as a people and a nation." Two attempts on Belo's life The Bishop revealed in the interview with Pilger that only The Bishop told Pilger that there have been two attempts on the other day, he received a reply from the current his life: Secretary-General, Boutros Boutros-Ghali. In it he wrote: "The United Nations is committed to make every effort for "The first time they tried was in 1989. I had just written a fmal, just and comprehensive internationally-acceptable to the Secretary-General of the United Nations. Soon after solution." that, they prepared an ambush for me but I got away. In Asked how he felt about the reply, Belo said: "At least 1991, they tried again when I went to the site of a massacre after five years, I got a reply." As Pilger comments, near Viqueque, where more than a thousand people were although containing nothing new~ the reply itself is part of killed in 1983. It was after I had seen the graves, the the momentum that is now building up on East Timor. evidence of the massacre, that they tried again. But they were unsuccessful and I escaped. Yes there is pressure on More films, please me all the time. " When Pilger asked him what outsiders could do, BeJo's answer was brief and to the point: Asked about recent British Foreign Office claims that "it was wrong to suggest that the widespread abuse of human "More films please, more con/erences, more letters ... keep rights sti11 persist in East Timor", Belo said: "I cannot speaking, everyone must keep .speaking about us. " believe they mean that. They must know it's not true. It has

20 TAPOL Bulletin No. 124, ·August 1994 East Timor briefs EAST TIMOR Five demonstrators sentenced Rights Commission, unlike that of Amos Wako who visited Four young East Timorese who unfurled banners in front of East Timor in 1992 and 1993 as the special envoy of the visiting foreign journalists in April this year and staged a UN Secretary-General. Wako's report has never been made brief demonstration for their benefit, have been tried and public; its contents are known only to the Indonesians. imprisoned for twenty months each. Ndiaye told the press in Jakarta that his purpose was "to Pantaleao Amaral, 18 years old, Isaac Soares, 22, monitor the way the government has promoted the right to Miguel de Deus, 20 and Rosalino dos Santos, 20 were all life ... and to see whether the highest international standards charged under Article 154 of the Criminal Code for spread­ of fair trial and the limitations on the use of the death ing hatred towards the government. They will have to spend penalty have been respected". He said he had been twenty months in prison. requested by the chairman of the UN Human Rights None of the men was accompanied by lawyers either Commission to obtain information on the Santa Cruz during their interrogation or at the time of their trial, in massacre and to investigate the situation of those who have grave violation of the Procedural Code. disappeared since then. [Jakarta Post, 13.7.1994) The first three defendants told the court they had unfurled It is understood that his purpose is not to mount his own the banners in front of foreign journalists because they investigation of the massacre but to look closely at the wanted their protest to be heard abroad. Indonesian investigations. He will discover for instance that The fourth man, Rosalino, a street trader, who was tried none of the 18 bodies buried at Hera cemetery was ident­ separately, announced after being sentenced that he refused ified before burial (the 19th was identified as that of Kamal to accept the verdict. He too said he had urged his col­ Bamadhaj) nor were any autopsies carried out. His report, leagues to unfurl anti-government banners in the hope of expected for next February's meeting of the UN Human attracting foreign support for East Timor's independence. He Rights Commission, could make interesting reading. also said that he was a member of UJETIL, (Juventude des While in Dili, he met Bishop Belo, the governor and Estudantes Timor Leste), the youth organisation of the East senior army and police officials. He also visited prisoners Timorese party, Fretilin. being held at Becora Prison. While in Jakarta, before going The last to be tried and sentenced was Pedro de Fatima, to Dili, he had a meeting with imprisoned resistance leader, 24, who was described as the "mastermind". Xanana Gusmao. Nothing was said about whether he was able to meet the six prisoners who were so abruptly Six long-term prisoners moved to Semarang transferred from Becora Prison to Semarang. Six East Timorese activists who are now serving long Although he said he had full access to the East Timorese, prison sentences were suddenly moved from Becora Prison, "whether or not the people had full access to me is a Dili to Central Java in May without their families being different issue". The Special Rapporteur said he had not notified. They are now being held at Kedungpane Prison in received certain documents he had requested from the Semarang. This is the prison to which Xanana Gusmao was Indonesian authorities to complete his assessment. initially transferred in September last year. Alarmed by While in Jakarta, the Special Rapporteur also met mem­ conditions there where only prisoners with criminal convic­ bers of the recently-formed Joint Committee on East Timor tions are held, Xanana staged a hunger strike to secure his which is composed of lawyers from the Legal Aid Institute, transfer to Cipinang in Jakarta. human rights activists and representatives of the Council of The sudden transfer of the six occurred shortly before the Churches and the Bishops Conference. UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Executions was ·.·.•. :.,:·:· :·:· scheduled to visit Dili. He would certainly have wanted to Dili newspaper in trouble? I interview these men. It is not clear whether he was able to visit them at their new place of detention. Shortly before The Dili newspaper Suara Timor Timur [Voice of their transfer, the prisoners staged a protest at Becora Prison East Timor] is coming under attack from the local when foreign journalists were allowed into the building. military for its reporting of the 14 July incident. In a The six prisoners are: Gregorio de Cunha Saldanha, malicious act of vandalism, deputy editor Agus serving a live sentence; Francisco Miranda Branco, Johanes' car was set ablaze after unknown persons serving a 15-year sentence, Saturnino Belo, serving ten had doused it with gasoline. (AP, 23.7.1994] years; Jacinto das Neves Raimundo Alves, also serving In its edition on Saturday, 16 July, two days after ten years; Juvencio de Jesus Martins, serving 6 years and the police attacked university students, the paper ten months; and Filomeno da Silva Pereira, serving five published a column asking, "What sins have the years and eight months. people of the East Timorese committed? What have Their transfer to a prison outside East Timor is in viol­ we done to keep having to spill our blood? What ation of the 1954 Geneva Convention which prohibits the have we done, for some people to stab us in our forcible removal of nationals from an occupied territory. hearts and leave us in a state of utter confusion, the target of yet more hostility?" UN Special Rapporteur visits Dili . In a separate column on the same day, the paper The UN Special Rapporteur for Extrajudicial, Arbitrary and lamented the fact that all issues in East Timor were Summary Executions, Badre Waly Ndiaya of Senegal, being dealt with in accordance with the security visited East Timor for a week in July. The visit is the only approach. move so far in implementation of the resolution of the UN An Indonesian journalist who was in East Timor Human Rights Commission in March 1993 requiring after the 14 July incident described graphically the Indonesia to allow UN special rapporteurs and working despondence and frustration of people there. He told groups to visit East Timor for purposes of investigation. TAPOL that even committed pro-integrationists have The report will be a public document of the Human changed their views because of recent developments.

TAPOL Bulletin No. 124, August 1994 21 EAST TIMOR East Timor at the UN Decolonisation Committee

The UN Special Committee on Decolonisation again had International Platform of Jurists for East Timor, Bishop East Timor on its agenda this year and heard petitions in AJosius Soma of Japan, the Japan Free East Timor favour of East Timor's right to self-determination from Coalition, Pax Christi International, International League for more than twenty individuals and organisations. Human Rights, Agir Pour Timor, British Coalition for East There were newcomers among the petitioners: a US Timor, Catholic Institute for International Relations, East Congresswoman, Nita Lowry [Dem.New York], the first Timor AJert Network/Canada, East Timor Action member of the US Congress to appear before the Network/US, the Hobart East Timor Committee and Committee on East Timor's behalf; a representative of the Parliamentarians for East Timar. Four Portuguese MPs also Asia-Pacific Coalition on East Timor set up at the Manila made petitions. For the first time in years, TAPOL was conference on East Timor in June; a new group in Manila, unable to submit a petition because of ill-health. Philippines Solidarity for East Timor and Indonesia; the Another new feature was that the Indonesians, who always Unrepresented Nations and Peoples' Organisation (UNPO); insist that the Committee has no right to discuss the issue , and a recently established group in Italy, the Coordination decided this year to have pro-integration East Timorese Group for Solidarity with East Timor. appear. These were Xavier Amaral, first president of Of particular interest was a petition by Maureen Tolfree, Fretilin who has now become a regular spokesman for a British woman whose brother, Brian Peters, was one of Indonesia, Paulino Gama, one-time Falintil fighter who five television newsmen ki11ed by Indonesian troops in surrendered to the Indonesians after attempting a coup and Balibo on 16 October 1975. Her petition is reported in a an attempt on the life of Xanana, and Jose Martins of the separate item. insignificant KOTA party who once defected from the The others to appear were the CNRM, UDT and Fretilin, Indonesian side but then changed sides again. Amnesty International, Human Right Watch/Asia, Sister of murdered newsman speaks at UN

Nearly nineteen years after her brother, a television cameraman, was murdered by Indonesian troops in Balibo, East Timor, on 16 October 1975, Maureen Tolfree has spoken at the UN about the tragedy that befell her brother and her efforts to find out what happened.

Brian Peters, who emigrated to Australia several years make a stop-over in Jakarta but while she was in the before his death, was on assignment for Australia's Channel airport waiting for permission to enter, she received a Nine to monitor Indonesian army incursions into East phone-call from an official of the British or Australian Timor, along with four other TV journalists, when they embassy advising her to continue her journey home as they were murdered. The hut they were operating from was "could not guarantee my safety". clearly marked with the word AUSTRALIA and when the Efforts to seek help from the British Foreign Office got troops approached them, they all had their hands up and nowhere. AJl she was told by her MP, Tony Benn, was that were shouting, 'Journalists, journalists'. her brother's remains were unidentifiable and that all five Until now, only Shirley Shackleton, the widow of Greg, journalists had been buried in Indonesia. (The British another of the journalists murdered, has campaigned government had meanwhile been approached separately by persistently on behalf of her husband and also for the cause the British Campaign for an Independent East Timar who of East Timor. Maureen Tolfree who Jives in Bristol, was were told that the relatives of Brian Peters and another of tota11y unaware of any activity on behalf of East Timor in the journalists who had British nationality, Malcolm Rennie, the UK until she heard of an action in her home town in did not wish to pursue the matter.) March this year, protesting against the Hawks deal with Maureen explained that she abandoned further efforts Indonesia. Since making contact with the organiser and with because the issue was so upsetting to her and to her father solidarity groups, including TAPOL, she has renewed her who suffered three heart attacks between the time of Brian's efforts to find out how her brother was killed and is seeking murder and his own death in 1990. to persuade the British government to press for a fu]] Concluding her very emotional statement, Maureen said: inquiry into the tragedy. "What do I want? I want you to call for the people of Petition to the UN East Timar to have an internationally-supervised On 13 July, along with more than twenty solidarity groups referendum on their future. I also want governments, from around the world, Maureen spoke at the UN Special including my own, to stop lying about East Timor. I want Committee on Decolonisation meeting at the UN to know why my brother and his colleagues are buried in headquarters in New York. She told the Committee that Jakarta. I want their bodies to be re-buried in East Timor after hearing of her brother's death, she went to Australia in or Australia, as their surviving relatives want. late November 1975 but discovered nothing about what had "/ want a properly conducted investigation into the deaths happened. On her way home via Jakarta, she wanted to of the five journalists. But most of all, I want everything

22 TAPOL Bulletin No. 124, August 1994 possible to be done for the people of East Timor. I'm one hundred per cent sure that that is what Brian would have EAST TIMOR:..______. wanted if he had not been murdered. " Foreign Office misinforms For several months, Maureen Tolfree has been seeking the help of MPs to have an investigation about her brother's death. A Foreign official has now written to her and also to her former MP, Tony Benn, which sets out to discourage any examination of the murders, and alleges that "the house in which your brother and other members of the crew were sheltering was caught in heavy crossfire between the forces of the three internal warring parties of East Timot (UDT, Apodeti and Fretili) and set on fire". This can only be ta~en as an attempt by the British government to deflect attention from the real culprits, forces of the Indonesian army. Lord A vebury has responded to this subterfuge in a letter to Douglas Hurd, the Foreign Secretary:

Why are you so anxious to deny the role of Indon~sian forces in the Balibo murders, acknowledged by every single authority? ... The reason why you would dissuade anybody from re­ opening the issue today is that Britain sells Indoneia ar"!s worth several hundred million pounds and that Indonesia is one of our best trading partners. We still seek to charge and try Nazi war criminals after a much longer interval and the idea that murder can be brushed under the carpet after 18 or 19 years is not to be found in ou.r criminal justice system. It is indeed despicable that we tried to hu~h up the murders of British citizens and protect the war cri­ minal responsible for this atrocity and that we continue to discourage efforts to reach the truth. There may be very little hope of persuading you or your Government as a whole to change your minds on this issue Brian Peters but you should be left in no doubt of the fact that m.any people are still extremely unhappy about what they consider to be a dishonourable episode in our history.

US Senate bans light arms sales to Indonesia

The US Senate has unanimously banned light arms sales to military aid to Indonesia under the International Military Indonesia until there is "significant progress made on and Educational Training programme. human rights in East Timor". This means "complying with the UN Human Rights Commission resolution of 1993, a significant reduction in Indonesian troop p~esen~e in East continued from page 7 Timor and Indonesia "participating constructively m the UN One argument of the provincial authorities is that the Secretary General's efforts to resolve the status of East Court fixed compensation higher than the Rpl0,000 Timor". Another amendment adopted would provide demanded by the peasants. But this only signifies that the $250,000 to support human rights groups in Indonesia and Court took account of the actual value of the land, not its another $250,000 to support environmental groups. . diminished value because of its disputed status. Senator Feingold, who has spearhe~ded .mo~es . m . the The Catholic activist, Pastor Mangunwijaya, who was in Senate to ban arms sales to Indonesia, said: This is a the forefront of solidarity actions in favour of the Kedung significant victory for those of us who are working to Ombo peasants, has stressed that the amount granted will establish a firm linkage between US arms sales and the never compensate for the years of privation and stress the promotion of human rights around the world. This sends a peasants suffered from the moment plans for the dam began clear message to the leaders of Indonesia. that we will ~ot to affect their Jives in 1984. (Bernas, 13.7.1994] be associated with or tolerate their campaign of repression As for the peasants themselves, the prospect of obtaining against the people of East Timor." . . large sums of money has not caused them to jump for joy. For the first time, the Senate has enacted Jeg1slahon They are living precariously on land perched close to the conditioning arms sales to Indonesia. Although the Senate dam waters which gives them little sense of security, in Foreign Affairs Committee approved a similar measur~ in impoverished hovels that are a far cry from the villages that 1993, the bill containing the amendment never made it to they used to inhabit before the waters submerged their the Senate floor. Since 1992, Congress has banned US homes. As one peasant told a reporter: "All we want is a decent place to Jive, not money." (Bernas , 12.7.1994)

TAPOL Bulletin No. 124, August 1994 23 BOOK REVIEW But ultimately, at every stage, it is Canberra's belief that the country's political and economic priorities are directed Geoffrey C. Gunn, "A Critical View of Western Journal­ towards its reliance on an "Asia link" with the Indonesian ism and Scholarship on East Timor ", Journal of Con­ dictatorship at the heart. The Jatest instance is this month's temporary Asia, Manila, 270 pages. visit by Pau] Keating to Jakarta to take part in a massive trade promotional programme, less than a week after I first came across the name of the author while on a trip to Suharto had shut down three major weekJies. Keating could Portugal in April this year when I spotted a Reuters report not avoid expressing his "regret" at the bans but there was in a Portuguese newspaper that an Australian lecturer had no way he would have heeded calls for him to postpone his been dismissed from the University of Brunei and ordered visit until the bans were lifted, as some of the protesters in to leave the country. He was being expelJed for offending Jakarta were hoping. Indonesian sensitivities as he had written an article about Gunn's analysis helps us to consider the press coverage in East Timor which was very critical of Indonesia and was our own country. Considering the generally Jow priority published in a newspaper in another ASEAN country. given to Indonesia in any of the major London papers, the Gunn was later interested to hear of the Portuguese press media in the UK has recently published an extraordinarily report as no newspaper in Australia had bothered to helpful flow of articJes about East Timor - shortly after the mention his expulsion, "which only goes to prove what I Dili massacre, and then this year, with the many articles am trying to say in my book", he told me. Incidentally, that preceded and foUowed the showing of John Pilger's while Brunei had conformed with ASEAN solidarity in Death of a Nation. The weekJy, News Statesman and disalJowing any disloyalty within its realm to a co-member, Society, has published more than half a dozen articles on it was The Nation in Bangkok that, yet again, had shown its East Timor since March, becoming perhaps the best unwillingness to toe the ASEAN line. The daily has campaigning vehicJe worldwide on the issue. Yet in The "offended" Jakarta on quite a number of occasions, not only Independent, a substantial report published on 15 July on for its reporting about East Timor but a]so for publishing the crackdown on Dili university students when three uncomplimentary reports about Aceh. people were killed is fo11owed the day after by a tiny Gunn's impressive study sets out to examine the way in foreign news brief, headed "KilJings denied", the source which comment and in particular media reporting in being [unnamed] "diplomats" who are described as being Australia has been largely determined by "the political "sceptical of such reports". The assumption of such report­ consensus in Canberra, Washington and Tokyo that has, in ing is that diplomats in Jakarta who can onJy have gleaned the final analysis, forced a closure on East Timor, set the their information from military sources are more reliable limits of possible debate and forced the real issues off the than the many East Timorese sources that have affirmed the agenda". death toll. The key periods of the East Timor tragedy, the pre­ The only serious blemish in this work is the shoddy invasion period, the invasion, the post-invasion period and editing. Typographical errors abound and in one or two the Di1i massacre, are set forth in some detail, afongside the places, even the date given for the Dili massacre is wrong coverage in the media. There is a dearly perceptible toning and Kama] Bamadhaj's name is misspelt. This does not down of attitudes, with outrage and criticism giving way to however detract from the fact that this book is a very acceptance of the Australian official line, whatever the party important addition to the steadily growing literature on East in power. In terms of the country's foreign policy require­ Timor. ments, East Timor is treated as an Australian-Indonesian Carmel Budiardjo issue, not to be multilaterised but to be handled in such a way as not to challenge the fundamental assumptions of "good relations" between Canberra and Jakarta. Subscriptions Gunn's analysis is based on the mode] identified by Noam Annual rates UK Europe & overseas Chomsky in his seminal work on "manufacturing consent" (six issues) (air only) which seeks to expose the media's selective presentation of Individuals £14.00 £14.00 newsflow. In particular, in the case of East Timor, this has Institutions £20.00 £20.00 meant that, whatever the event or the latest outrage, the , Girocheques and Eurocheques are welcome. fundamental issue - that of self-determination and the TAPOL's Giro Account No: 56 781 4009. illegality of Indonesia's very presence in East Timor - is Please, no US, Australian or Canadian personal cheques to not considered as worth mentioning. London. The question of media 'flak' is a key element. Hence, in the case of the Santa Cruz massacre, after an initial horror Australian subscribers may pay in A$ to: TAPOL (Australia) at the event, the targets begin to be re-defined. They are PO Box 121, Clifton Hill, Vic. 3068 not the Indonesian military who are virtualJy cleared on the Rate for individuals: A$35 grounds that the massacre was just the result of an 'abbera­ tion', but the Portuguese (whose planned MPs' mission was Dutch subscribers may pay in Dfl to: S.L.Liem aborted), the resistance and, in Australia, the protesters. Binnenkadijk 267, 1018 ZG Amsterdam Of course, the Australian media has produced a substantial Postgiro 4637291 body of reporting that has been extremely unfavourable to Rate for individuals: Dfl.40 Jakarta. After all, six Australian journalists (including Kindly state that the payment is for TAPOL. British and New Zealand nationals) lost their Jives for Subscribers in the US and Canada may pay in US$ or C$ to: trying to monitor the early stages of the Indonesian aggres­ TAPOL-Canada, c/o ETAN-Canada sion. And there are Australian journalists a-plenty who P.O.Box 562, Station P, Toronto M5S 2T1 know enough about the corrupt Suharto regime to subject Rate for individuals: C$30 or US$30. it to very critical scrutiny. Indeed it was an article about the All other subscriptions and all correspondence to: Suharto family wealth by David Jenkins published in the TAPOL, 111 Northwood Road, Thornton Heath, Sydney Morning Herald in April 1986 that alJ but Surrey CR7 8HW, UK Phone: (081) 771-2904 scuppered Canberra-Jakarta relations. Fax: (081) 653-0322